Girl Talk
by JadziaKathryn
Summary: Three original characters discuss Worf, Dax, Bashir, and the Prophets.


Disclaimer: Paramount owns the universe my characters are playing in as well as those they talk about. 

**Girl Talk**

Ensign Tanya Bilka settled in her favorite chair. Something about Peles's traditional Bajoran chair made all the troubles of the day just melt away. Peles herself was sitting cross-legged on her bed, and T'Lan was sitting ramrod-straight against the wall. She looked very Vulcan, and if Tanya and Peles hadn't known her so well, they could easily have believed that she was a full-blooded Vulcan. Named after her maternal grandmother, T'Lan was only a quarter Vulcan; she presented a Vulcan exterior but her human heritage was more prominent than the casual observer would expect. Certainly, few on board the station would have expected her to be in Peles's quarters to engage in girl talk and gossip. 

"Did you see the way Paul was looking at you on the Promenade, Tanya?"

"Paul? I do not know who you're talking about."

"Right, you probably don't see a lot of neutrino scholars, huh, T'Lan?"

"I have spent the last week repairing damage to the docking ring. Is this Paul in Starfleet?"

"No, he's a civilian studying the effects of the wormhole and how it- oh, I don't know. Science was never my thing. That's why I'm in security. Anyway, he was looking at Tanya like he's never seen a woman before."

Tanya blushed. Unsure as she was about her reaction to this attention, she thought it best to change the subject. "Well, that's alright, but I was definitely right about Lieutenant Commanders Dax and Worf."

"A Trill and a Klingon. This is a strange pairing, but they seem happy together. What do you think, Peles?"

"Well, if the Prophets want them to be together, who are we to stand in the way?"

"T'Lan asked what _you_ thought."

"If they're happy together, then I'm happy for them."

"But what about Dr. Bashir? He and Dax were made for each other!"

Here T'Lan voiced her objection with unusual vehemence. "Dr. Bashir is too young, inexperienced, and immature for someone like Lieutenant Commander Dax. After all, she has lived many lifetimes."

"She has a point."

"But Dax is so full of exuberance and fun. Worf is- well, has anybody ever seen him smile?"

"You humans have a saying, "opposites attract." I still think that if the Prophets will it, then we should be happy for their happiness." 

"Oh, alright, leave it up to the Prophets, Peles. But T'Lan, you simply _cannot _be serious. Bashir and Dax are just so…so…right for each other!"

"I assure you that I am serious. Dr. Bashir is not in love with Lieutenant Commander Dax; he is merely in love with the idea of her."

"I think you call it "puppy love," Tanya. Or is it kittens? I can never remember." Peles muttered several things in Bajoran as she made her way to the replicator. After a coaxing tap here and there, it produced a mug of white hot chocolate, her favorite Terran treat. "Anyone for a drink?"

"Green tea, please."

Tanya, who had never really liked hot drinks very much, pondered this for a moment while Peles brought T'Lan her tea. "I guess I'll have a pink lemonade. No, wait, your replicator messes it up. Regular lemonade."

"Coming right up."

Drinks in hand, they resumed the conversation. "Why do you think that, T'Lan?"

She arched an eyebrow in the fashion of her Vulcan ancestors, then frowned in a distinctly human manner. "I have no logical explanation." She followed the path of Surak only in the broadest sense, which allowed her to accept a feeling as such. "It does not seem right. He acts like a teenager in her presence."

"But Worf's so sour and surly, and Dax has that tremendous _joie de vivre_. How can they possibly be happy together?"

In response, she got two quizzical looks. "Joy from life, literally. Love of life is really what it gets at, though."

"I do not believe that Lieutenant Commander Worf has any less zeal for life than his mate. He simply chooses to express it differently."

"She has a point, Tanya." Unwillingly, Peles had found herself in the middle. That in itself was unusual, because usually T'Lan took the middle ground.

"Additionally, I do not believe that either of them would be satisfied with a traditional relationship from an individual of their respective cultures."

"Well, there are days I think Dax lives to break convention."

"What about that Trill woman?"

"They would've broken convention. That's why they didn't get together. Reassociation is strictly forbidden in Trill culture. I looked it up."

"Boring day off?"

"Very."

"Actually, I was primarily referring to Lieutenant Commander Worf. I believe that most Klingon women would consider him too "soft." Klingon culture is known for its primal mating.

"Worf, _soft_?" cried Tanya, at the same time Peles exclaimed "I've seen Klingons who were softer."

"Nonetheless, I believe that they are a compatible couple."

"I still think Bashir would be better for her."

"I don't think your say in the matter counts."

"Does yours?"

"I never said it did. It's all up to the Prophets."

"Tanya." Just as things were heating up, headed towards yet another philosophical debate between Tanya and Peles, T'Lan interjected. "I believe you brought up this topic to avoid discussing a certain man by the name of Paul."

"Hey, she's right! I'm telling you, T'Lan, he's been looking at her for three days now, sneaking glances when he thinks nobody's looking." Triumphantly, she added, "And Tanya's sent a look or two back when _she _thought nobody was looking!"

"I did not!" As Peles started again, Tanya wished vehemently that T'Lan hadn't brought Paul up. There were days when she wished her friend would act just a tiny bit more Vulcan-y. Actually, this was the first, but if it kept up there would be more to come.

What the three didn't know was that during their discussion, the couple in question had never been more sure that they were making the right choice.


End file.
